With Australia’s federal election fast approaching, the Coalition has introduced a last-minute revision to its policy on reducing the public service.
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor revealed that, under a potential Dutton government, the policy would involve moving public servants out of Canberra and into regional areas to address local needs while still adhering to the planned workforce reduction.
This new component of the Coalition’s policy emerged just a day before voters head to the polls. As more than 7.5 million Australians have already cast their ballots, the revision adds further complexity to the Coalition’s previously outlined commitment to reduce the public service by 41,000 positions over five years.
The changes are positioned as an effort to achieve significant budget savings while ensuring essential services remain effective in all parts of the country.
Coalition’s Strategic Shift: Migration of Public Servants
In a press conference on May 2, Angus Taylor explained that a Dutton-led government would focus its cuts on Canberra-based roles, leaving regional areas largely unaffected.
According to Taylor, a key element of the strategy would involve “migrating” public servants to regional areas to ensure that essential services are maintained and that these areas benefit from a robust public service presence.
The proposed shift echoes past efforts under the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government, which attempted to decentralise public service roles as part of a broader regional development agenda.
Taylor insisted that the workforce reductions would largely rely on natural attrition and hiring freezes, with 5,000 vacant positions left unfilled. These steps are intended to help save $17.2 billion in government expenditure over the next five years, without impacting frontline services, security, or defence agencies.
The Challenge of Downsizing Without Disruption
Despite these assurances, experts have raised concerns about the feasibility of such an approach. Analysis by Guardian Australia suggests that it may be difficult for the Coalition to meet its downsizing targets without affecting key areas such as national security and frontline services, which constitute a substantial portion of the federal workforce.
Public servants from critical departments, including Home Affairs and Defence, account for a significant number of annual departures, meaning that even modest cuts could disrupt vital operations.
This reality is complicated by the historical challenges faced by previous decentralisation attempts, such as the relocation of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority to regional areas, which led to workforce issues.
With these complexities in mind, the Coalition’s proposal remains contentious. Critics argue that moving public servants to less urbanised areas might not only cause inefficiencies but could also exacerbate workforce issues in the long run, as seen in past decentralisation initiatives.
